meeyauw's pad

Shaggy Ink Cap Mushrooms

2009-11-27T23:02:00.000-05:00

We found this area of shaggy ink cap mushrooms growing at the dump. They are fascinating. They are both edible and used for ink. The photo above shows the group of them. As you scroll down you will see the various life stages of the mushroom, from when they pop through the sand until they mature and turn into inky blobs.

Coprinus comatus

Shaggy Ink Cap Mushrooms Set

My Buddy

2009-11-27T21:56:00.002-05:00

This is my cat, Buddy. He lives for hiking with John and me. He always climbs every boulder and nearly every tree. He's such a handsome guy!

Buddy Hikes Set

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Four Mushrooms & Fungi

2009-11-27T21:10:00.006-05:00

(Hydnum repandum)
Wood hedgehog mushroom. Also called wood urchin.
Edible and popular in European markets.
It has spines, not gills (see below).

Coriolus bracket fungi on rotting birch log.

One of my favorites, above: Hericium fungus. Either flagellum or abietus.

Winter mushroom (Flammulina velutipes)

Mushrooms of New England Set

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Some Mosses & Lichens

2009-11-27T20:30:00.004-05:00

Treelike Club Moss (Lycopodium dendroideum)

British Soldier Lichen (Cladonia cristatella)

Reindeer moss (also called reindeer lichen). Cladonia portentosa or Cladonia rangiferina.

Alpine Lichen (Cetraria nivalis)

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Pigeon Horntail

2009-11-23T17:45:00.005-05:00

Tremex columba

This wasp does not sting. The "stinger" on the end of it is actually an ovipositer that the female uses to drill into a tree in order to lay eggs in the wood. It hurts the tree, but not enough to kill it. Usually the trees that the horntail chooses are already damaged. There are about 22 Tremex species in the world, but only one in North America and John found it and we photographed it! A good article on these creatures can be found at enature.com.

Pigeon Horntail Set

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Six Mushrooms

2009-11-23T17:04:00.002-05:00

Amanita solitaria

American Pine Mushroom (Armillaria ponderosa)

Crystoderma granulosum mushroom

Lactarius deliciosus (Saffron Cap Mushroom)

Russula cyanoxantha

Clitocybe mushrooms

Mushrooms of New England Collection

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Wood Frog

2009-11-22T00:45:00.006-05:00

I learned quite a bit from John while photographing this tiny frog. We had been having problems on each hike photographing wood frogs. If we captured a wood frog, they hopped about so quickly in John's or Wingnut's hands that I couldn't focus properly. And they are so quick as they hop away from you on the ground that I could never get a good photo.

On this hike, John stood off to the side of me and the frog and took its attention away from me and on to him. In this way, the frog thought that John was the one to avoid and ignored me. I was able to crawl on my knees very close to him and got many good shots (see the link to the wood frog set below). I would never have thought that this would be possible with a frog. I actually had to make very small movements to persuade the frog to change position so that I could get varied shots!

Rana sylvatica

Love these feet!

Wood Frog Set

Behind the Dump Hike

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American Dagger Moth Caterpillar

2009-11-21T23:45:00.003-05:00

Acronicta americana

This is what the American Dagger Moth looks like. Click on the photo to see it full size in a new window.

American Dagger Moth Caterpillar Set

Behind the Dump Hike

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Northern Two-lined Salamander

2009-11-21T23:30:00.004-05:00

Eurycea bislineata

Northern Two-lined Salamander Set

Behind the Dump Hike

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Oyster Mushrooms Again

2009-11-21T22:43:00.006-05:00

Pleurotus ostreatus

While we were out photographing covered bridges, John found quite a big bunch of oyster mushrooms. He harvested them and cooked them up that night and I tasted them for the first time. Supposedly, Campbell's Cream of Mushroom Soup is made with oyster mushrooms. They tasted the same and looked the same as the tiny bits of mushroom in the Campbell's cans. I e-mailed Campbell's Soup and asked them if this were true, but they never responded.

Clean and slice the mushrooms. Saute in a lot of butter.

They tasted, to me, just like the Campbell's mushrooms. They were good! Just a bit too much mushroom for me.

Oyster Mushrooom Set

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Artist's Fungus

2009-11-21T21:18:00.003-05:00

Ganoderma applanatum

A bracket fungus. You can etch scenes on these. John has done one. We collected two of these fungi on my land in Vermont and I am deciding what to draw on them. I'll photograph all three when I am done.

Artist's Fungus Set

Mushrooms of New England Collection

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Coral Fungus

2009-11-21T21:05:00.003-05:00

Ramaria formosa
Poisonous

Ramaria formosa Set

Mushrooms of New England Collection

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Yellow Club Fungus

2009-11-18T11:38:00.004-05:00

Clavulinopsis helvola

This is the yellow club fungus that I was photographing on the Behind the Dump Hike when John found the sad little porcupine.

Behind the Dump Hike

Yellow Club Fungus Set

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The Sad Porcupine

2009-11-17T06:54:00.007-05:00

If you ever go into the woods with John, and if he suddenly jumps back and says "Uh oh," then you should duck for cover. He is the most knowledgeable naturalist I have ever met. If he is surprised in the woods, it is a bad surprise.

We were hiking in the Mt Kearsarge forest behind the town dump and up the hill. I was photographing yellow club fungus. John was walking the area, talking to me, saying how he had never seen so many porcupine quills in one area. He was exploring outside of a porcupine den. He identified the entrances of it and was observing the tracks and surrounding vegetation — seeing what the porcupine was eating nearby. He again looked at the glacial erratic boulder that was 15 feet tall under which the porcupine had her den. And that is when he cursed and jumped backward. The porcupine had been right there all the time, watching him nervously, camouflaged by her coat which was the color of the quartz flecked granite boulder.

Once we caught our breath, John observed that porcupines were usually placid and calm. This one was very tense and nervous. She was not behaving normally. John feared other predators — perhaps something was still in the area.

The quills littering the forest floor were both baby and adult quills. The mother porcupine was alone. There was evidence of struggle in the vegetation.

After studying the tracks, trails and clues, John told me that a fisher cat, the only natural predator of porcupines, had raided the den and carried off and killed the porcupine pup. The mother had defended her baby valiantly but she couldn't withstand a fisher cat attack.

She was now alone and nervous. John climbed all the way to the top of the boulder to find another view of the mom. This spooked her out of the den, which is when I got two shots of her.

We left her in relative peace and followed the fisher cat trail. We soon lost the trail. The fisher could have gone up a tree to eat its prey.

The Sad Porcupine Set

Behind the Dump Hike

You will find more photos of her den and the surrounding idyllic area in which the porcupine lives.

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A Bracket Fungus

2009-11-14T20:56:00.003-05:00

Fomitopsis pinicola

Fomitopsis pinicola Set

Mushrooms of New England Collection

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Tramates versicolor

2009-11-14T20:07:00.002-05:00

Tramates versicolor Set

Mushrooms of New England Collection

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Hygrocybe flavescens

2009-11-14T14:32:00.002-05:00

Hygrocybe flavescens Set

Mushrooms of New England Collection

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Russula sardonia

2009-11-14T14:26:00.002-05:00

I took this photograph before I learned how to photograph mushrooms and fungi. Next season I'll get better shots.

Russula sardonia Set

Mushrooms of New England Collection

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Early Cup Fungus

2009-11-14T14:10:00.003-05:00

Peziza vesiculosa

Early Cup Fungus Set

Mushrooms of New England Collection

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More Oyster Mushrooms

2009-11-14T13:46:00.005-05:00

While I was re-organizing my Flickr mushroom sets, we found that I had misidentified these photos. These are oyster mushrooms. We found these freeze dried on sugar maple trees in Barton, VT during sugaring time. In Japan these are called hira-take mushrooms. Since they are so well dried, we ground them up to put in casseroles, stews, sauces, and gravies. They look quite different than the fresh oyster mushrooms we have been collecting and eating.

Pleurotus ostreatus

Oyster Mushrooom Set

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Mycelial Strands

2009-11-14T11:27:00.002-05:00

These are mycelial strands of a woodland fungus growing on a log. The actual mushroom is the fruit of these mycelials and not the plant as you would expect. These strands are the plant of the mushroom. We kicked the bark off of a rotting log to find these. In the Mycelial Strand Set you can see what other mycelials look like.

Mycelial Strands Set

Butterfield Pond Hike

Mushrooms of New England Collection

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Jack O' Lanterns

2009-11-14T11:16:00.004-05:00

Omphalina luteicolor (formerly Omphalina fibula)
Edibility unknown.
In New Hampshire these mushrooms are called jack o'lanterns.

Jack O'Lantern Set

Butterfield Pond Hike

Mushrooms of New England Collection

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Witch's Butter

2009-11-14T11:07:00.002-05:00

Dacrymyces palmatus

One of my favorite fungi, this is also called Witches Jelly or Orange jelly

Witch's Butter Set

Butterfield Pond Hike

Mushrooms of New England Collection

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Horn of Plenty Mushrooms

2009-11-10T23:54:00.011-05:00

These distinct mushrooms grow primarily under beech trees. We found them all over the woods in early October when we hiked behind the dump. Below you can see a small red creature eating the mushroom.

Craterellus cornucopioides

Horn of Plenty mushrooms are edible. John likes to dehydrate them and then grind them up and put them into a shaker (just like you have cheese in a shaker).

You see here the dried and then the ground mushrooms below. We add the dried horns of plenty to stews, casseroles, sauces and gravies.

Behind the Dump Hike

Horn of Plenty Mushrooms

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Atlantic Blue Crab

2009-11-04T12:03:00.005-05:00

Callinectes sapidus

These edible crabs have many names: a male crab is called a jimmy or channler. Mature female are called sooks. Immature females are called a sally or she-crab. A mature female carrying a brood of eggs is called a sponger or sponge crab. A mating pair of blue crabs is called a doubler. At low tide, off of the pier in the salt marsh, we saw people with nets and buckets. We wandered over to see what they were doing. A boy allowed me to photograph his bucket of blue crabs. John looked for some, but they were all captured by the time we got there. Perhaps we should've gone to the fish market and bought some and told the family we caught them for their supper! Below, you see John at the place where folks were catching crabs. The house we were staying at is directly across the marsh on the left.

A Weekend in Old Saybrook Set

Atlantic Blue Crab Set

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Links for 2009-05-24 [del.icio.us]

2009-05-25T00:00:00-07:00

Frogs of New Hampshire - N.H. Fish and Game

Links for 2009-05-02 [del.icio.us]

2009-05-03T00:00:00-07:00

Interactive weather map for Barton, VT

Links for 2009-03-15 [del.icio.us]

2009-03-16T00:00:00-07:00

Pyramids, Stonehenge, Easter Island and the Great Pyramid explained by ...
a retired carpenter figures out how ancient civilizations built their marvelous creations

Links for 2008-10-24 [del.icio.us]

2008-10-25T00:00:00-07:00

Games on Graphs
active games for math class; discrete math games

Links for 2008-10-09 [del.icio.us]

2008-10-10T00:00:00-07:00

Green Mountain Rug Hooking Guild
rug hooking; free classes on Nov 10

Links for 2008-10-02 [del.icio.us]

2008-10-03T00:00:00-07:00

Photojojo’s Guide to Macrophotography
Macro filters, reverse mounted lenses, microscope photography, make your own macro lens, great article

Links for 2008-09-23 [del.icio.us]

2008-09-24T00:00:00-07:00

Wordle - Beautiful Word Clouds
use this to make pretty word art with your poetry